Data encryption: How Cloudi-Fi shields sensitive data and ensures digital security
What is Data Encryption?
In today’s world, digital information is increasing exponentially. Cyberattacks are nearly unavoidable and data breaches can be devastating and costly. Organizations that fail to protect data security could face hefty fines from regulators and expensive lawsuit settlements with customers. Thus, it becomes unprecedentedly significant to prevent unauthorized access to data and the leak of personal data. Albeit not exclusive, encryption as a concept that is explicitly mentioned as “one possible technical and organizational measure to secure data” in GDPR, plays a prominent role to secure personal data for privacy and compliance.
Encryption is the process of scrambling clear text (“plaintext”) into random and meaningless texts (“ciphertext”), usually a hashed code, using a key. Encryption enables data to be unreadable for third parties who do not have correct keys. Encryption is commonly used to protect data in transit and it is one way to secure personal data at rest, i.e., data that is stored in the databases and is not moving through networks and devices. When users want to read or write data, they can use the key to convert ciphertext back into readable plaintext - this process is called “decryption.”
When customers log in to wireless hotspots, companies may collect their personal data for identification, authentication, and optional marketing at customers’ consent. Cloudi-Fi helps companies ensure the collection and storage of personal data is secure and compliant.
What data does Cloudi-Fi encrypt?
Personal identifying information (PII) is any data that can be used to identify a specific individual, for example, name, mailing address, phone number. Cloudi-Fi encrypts all PII according to local regulations and shields our clients from data breaches, compliance failures, and reputation damage. In contrast, poll information or opt-ins like newsletter subscription, which can not be used to identify a user, do not fall into our encrypted data category.
How does Cloudi-Fi encrypt data?
There are two main encryption types: asymmetric encryption and symmetric encryption. In asymmetric encryption, also known as public-key encryption, two keys are involved in encryption and decryption respectively. The “public key” is used by the sender to encrypt information, and anyone with the “private key” can decrypt it. In symmetric encryption, the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. It is usually faster and more efficient than asymmetric encryption and therefore widely used where a bulk of data need to be stored and where PII is required for authentication and transaction.
Cloudi-Fi applies symmetric cryptography to ensure the confidentiality of customers’ and employees’ digital identities in its clients’ organizations without huge costs of resources. As secure key management and distribution are integral to data protection in symmetric cryptography, Cloudi-Fi keeps keys for its clients and store them properly in the vault to avoid any loss or misplace of keys. Simultaneously, Cloudi-Fi backs up the data set regularly and stores them in its server; as such, Cloudi-Fi can provide data recovery if data is accidentally destroyed or lost.
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